Loitering, drinking at Spear Park to be addressed

Published
6:30 pm EDT, Thursday, October 31, 2013

MIDDLETOWN >> Loitering and drinking in Spear Park has irked local businesses and the property owner over recent months.

The Middletown Police Department has responded to roughly a half-dozen intoxicated people at or around the Main Street park over the last three months, according to data submitted to raidsonline.com, which aggregates arrest data from law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The park is owned by the Middletown Housing Authority and maintained by the city’s Public Works Department.

“We have a high concentration of people with extended loitering going on there, at least during the good weather,” said Housing Authority Executive Director William Vasiliou. “We have occasionally called the police, when in fact there is suspected illegal behavior. In most cases it’s not illegal behavior — it’s distasteful behavior.”

Most of the people who drink in the parks are homeless or, for some reason, can’t drink at home, said police spokeswoman Lt. Heather Desmond. “They make social plans to meet there,” she added.

In the best of times, said Vasiliou, “It’s an inner-city respite to, in the summertime, get out of the direct sunlight and enjoy the water fountain.” But, due to some electrical problems there, the water did not run for a substantial part of the summer.

“My understanding is that they have the funds now to fix it,” Vasilou said.

Downtown Business District Executive Director Quentin Phipps said the loitering is on business owners’ radar, and they intend to discuss their concerns with the city.

The Housing Authority and DBD are scheduled to meet with the mayor, city department heads and police officials in early November “to get together and have a conversation on what all our roles are,” said Phipps.

“I would say what we have to do is have all the stakeholders involved, the city, the business owners and a lot of our service providers — ” such as local soup kitchens — “come together and come up with some sort of plan to help folks who are maybe down on some luck,” said Phipps.

“My sense is, constant loitering in any public areas is never a positive thing,” said Vasiliou. “In this case it does generate a particular amount of garbage. That’s not a positive thing for Main Street.”